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Illegal Logging has a devastating impact on some of the world’s most valuable forests. It can have not only serious environmental, but also economic and social consequences. Europe’s response to the problem is reflected in the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) Action Plan of the European Union. The EU FLEGT Action Plan provides a number of measures to exclude illegal timber from markets, to improve the supply of legal timber and to increase the demand for responsible wood products.

A central element of the EU’s strategy to combat illegal logging are trade accords with timber exporting countries, known as Voluntary Partnership Agreements, to ensure legal timber trade and support good forest governance in the partner countries. As a second element, the EU created legislation to ban illegally-produced wood products from the EU market, known as the  EU Timber Regulation. This website provides information on the various FLEGT policy areas and activities of the European Union and its partner countries to tackle illegal logging.

Latest news

European statistics on timber trade track imports from VPA countries

Eurostat has published trade data on wood products imported to the European Union from countries that are negotiating or implementing a VPA.

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14.05.2013 Thailand to start VPA negotiations with the EU

Thailand will soon begin negotiating a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union.

09.04.2013 EU FLEGT Facility News released

The February and March 2013 issue of the EU FLEGT Facility newsletter has been released in English, French and Spanish. Click here to subscribe to our bimonthly newsletter.

01.04.2013 Thailand formally requests VPA negotiations with the EU

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially requested the commencement of negotiations of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the EU, in a letter received by the Delegation of the EU to Thailand on 18 February. 

25.03.2013 VPA negotiations in DRC focus on legality definition

As negotiations continue for a Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the EU, the teams are holding monthly video-conference meetings to discuss annexes to the bilateral agreement.